你并不特别

By David McCullough Jr.1

So here we are… commencement2… lifes great forward-looking ceremony. Commencement is lifes great ceremonial beginning. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless， uniform， one-size-fitsall.3 Whether male or female， tall or short， scholar or slacker，4 each of you is dressed exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name， exactly the same.

You are not special. You are not exceptional5. Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests， your glowing seventh grade report card… youre nothing special.6

Yes， youve been pampered， cosseted， doted upon， helmeted， bubble-wrapped.7 Yes， capable adults with other things to do have held you， kissed you， fed you， wiped your mouth， wiped your bottom， trained you， taught you， tutored you， coached you， listened to you， counseled you， encouraged you. Youve been nudged， cajoled， wheedled and implored.8 Youve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie.9 And now youve conquered high school… and， indisputably， here we all have gathered for you， the pride and joy of this fine community.

“走到高處去看看世界，而不是让世界看到你。”小麦卡洛先生在2012年卫斯理高中毕业典礼上告诫即将走出校园的学生，正因为人与人各不相同，所以没有人比其他人更特殊。脚踏实地，埋头充实自己，或许才是实现人生价值最可靠的途径。

But do not get the idea youre anything special. Because youre not.

The empirical10 evidence is everywhere. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37，000 high schools. So think about this： even if youre one in a million， on a planet of 6.8 billion， that means therere nearly 7，000 people just like you. And consider for a moment the bigger picture： your planet is not the center of its solar system， your solar system is not the center of its galaxy， your galaxy is not the center of the universe.11 In fact， astrophysicists12 assure us the universe has no center； therefore， you cannot be it.

Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him…

“But， Dave，” you cry， “Walt Whitman tells me Im my own version of perfection！ Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus！”13 And I dont disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection， 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see， if everyone is special， then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy， trophies become meaningless.

In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another—which springs， I think， from our fear of our own insignificance， a subset of our dread of mortality—we have of late， we Americans， to our detriment， come to love accolades more than genuine achievement.14 No longer is it how you play the game， no longer is it even whether you win or lose， or learn or grow， or enjoy yourself doing it… Now its “So what does this get me？” As a consequence， we cheapen15 worthy endeavors.

Its an epidemic—and in its way， not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37，000 nationwide， Wellesley High School.

If youve learned anything in your years here I hope its that education should be for， rather than material advantage， the exhilaration16 of learning. Youve learned， too， I hope， as Sophocles assured us， that wisdom is the chief element of happiness （Second is ice cream… just an fyi）.17 I also hope youve learned enough to recognize how little you know…how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. Its where you go from here that matters.

As you commence， then， and before you scatter to the winds18， I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Dont bother with work you dont believe in any more than you would a spouse youre not crazy about. Resist the easy comforts of complacency， the specious glitter of materialism， the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction.19 Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle， as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life.20 Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love， everyone you love， with all your might21. And do so， please， with a sense of urgency， for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer； and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations， and youll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.22

The fulfilling life， the distinctive life， the relevant life， is an achievement， not something that will fall into your lap because youre a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer.23 Youll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life， liberty and the pursuit of happiness—quite an active verb，“pursuit”—which leaves， I should think， little time for lying around watching parrots roller skate on Youtube.24

The first President Roosevelt， the old rough rider， advocated the strenuous life.25 Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner， to live deep and suck out all the marrow.26 The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row， row into the swirl and roil.27 The point is the same： get busy， have at it. Dont wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up， get out， explore， find it yourself， and grab hold with both hands.

Climb the mountain not to plant your flag， but to embrace the challenge， enjoy the air and behold the view.28 Climb it so you can see the world， not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris， not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly. Exercise free will and creative， independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you， but for the good they will do others， the rest of the 6.8 billion—and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself.

The sweetest joys of life， then， come only with the recognition that youre not special. Because everyone is.

1. David McCullough Jr.： 小大卫·麦卡洛，美国作家、普利策奖得主及知名历史学家David McCullough之子，也是卫斯理高中资深英语教师。

2. commencement： 毕业典礼。

3. 你们的毕业礼服肥肥大大，款式统一，只有一个尺码。one-size-fits-all： 均码，一刀切。

4. scholar： 奖学金获得者；slacker： 偷懒、逃避职责的人，此处指成绩不好的学生。

5. exceptional： 不同寻常的，出类拔萃的。

6. 尽管你有u9足球奖杯、辉煌的七年级成绩单……但你其实并无特别之处。 u9： under 9，指9岁以下。

7. pamper： 纵容；cosset： 過度保护；dote upon：溺爱；helmeted： 被保护的；bubble-wrapped：被泡泡包围着的，形容被关爱、保护着。

8. nudge： 轻推，刺激；cajole： // 劝诱；wheedle： 用甜言蜜语哄骗；implore：恳求。

9. fete： 盛情款待；fawn over： 奉承讨好。

10. empirical： 以经验（或观察）为依据的。

11. 再来想想一个更宏观的场景：你生活的星球不是太阳系的中心，太阳系也不是银河系的中心，银河系也不是宇宙的中心。

12. astrophysicist： 天体物理学家。

13. 沃尔特·惠特曼告诉我“我是自己的完美版本！”，古希腊画家爱比克泰德也说“我有宙斯的火花！”Walt Whitman： 沃尔特·惠特曼（1819—1892），美国著名诗人；Epictetus： 爱比克泰德，希腊陶工兼画家，作品严谨雅致。

14. 达尔文的物竞天择理论鲜被谈及，却一直显而易见，我认为这样的理论来源于人类对自身渺小的惧怕，而这又可以追溯到人类对死亡的恐惧，我们美国人最近这一段时间总是偏爱赞美而不是真实的成就，然而这样的心态对我们有害无利。subset： 子集，子范畴；mortality： 死亡；detriment：损害，有害物；accolade： 荣耀，称赞。

15. cheapen： 贬低。

16. exhilaration： 兴奋感，激动心情。

17. 正如希腊悲剧诗人索福克勒斯告诫我们的，智慧是快乐的首要因素（第二是冰淇淋……仅供参考）。Sophocles：索福克勒斯（496？—406BC），古希腊三大悲剧诗人之一，一生共写有123部剧本；fyi： = for your information，供参考。

18. scatter to the winds： 随风飘散，这里指毕业生各自踏上不同的道路。

19. 不要志得意满，不要被物质主义华而不实的光芒蒙蔽双眼，也不要被自我满足所麻痹。complacency： 骄傲自满；specious： 华而不实的；narcotic：致幻的，麻醉的；paralysis： 瘫痪，麻痹。

20. nourishing： 滋养的，富于营养的；staple： 日常必需品。

21. might： 力量。

22. 请尽快行动吧，因为时间正一分一秒滴答流逝；正如凡事有开始必有结束，无论今天下午你们过得多么愉快，这场典礼终究会结束。subtract： 减少；commencement： 开始；cessation：停止。

23. fall into ones lap： 得来全不费工夫；caterer：备办食物者。

24. 你会注意到，开国元勋们费尽心力地确保你不可剥夺的权利，包括生命、自由和对幸福的追求；而“追求”是一个非常积极的动词，我想，躺在那儿在Youtube上看鹦鹉溜冰应该不算吧。inalienable：不可剥夺的。

25. advocate： 提倡；strenuous： 繁重的，奋力拼搏的。

26. 梭罗先生尽力简化生活，希望活得深刻，汲取生命的精髓。Thoreau： 梭罗（1817—1862），美国作家、哲学家，超验主义代表人物，也是一位废奴主义及自然主义者，崇尚简朴、自然的生活方式；marrow： 精华，精髓。

27. 诗人玛丽·奥利弗告诉我们向前划，划入漩涡和湍流当中。Mary Oliver： 玛丽·奥利弗（1935— ），当代美国诗人，以书写自然著称；roil： 汹涌的急流。

28. 爬山不是为了插上旗帜，而是为了迎接挑战，呼吸新鲜空气，欣赏眼前的美景。behold：看。